Bonnie Pleads: Why You Must Wear Protective SunScreen This Weekend!

Hey girlfriends before you set foot outside in the sun you MUST put on a serious sunscreen!

Now, here’s why you must wear sunscreen and here’s how to choose the very best sunscreen to keep you safe. The bottom line — deadly skin cancer is an epidemic among young women. Young women like you are getting melanoma- the deadliest form of skin cancer- at a rate of 50 per cent more, than just a few years ago. Melanoma is the most common form of cancer for women 25 to 29 years-old. About 65 percent of those cases can be attributed to UV radiation from the sun, , according to The Skin Cancer Foundation.

Consider this — the earth’s ozone layer is depleting, allowing more skin-damaging UVA rays through and yet women are still sitting out in the sun unprotected. And #2, they are using tanning beds which increase the risk of developing super deadly melanoma skin cancer by 75%, according to NYC dermatologist, Dr. Bruce Katz, of the Juva Skin and Laser Center.

“I just did a biopsy of a 24 year-old woman’s mole, and the diagnosis came back as melanoma today,” Dr. Katz told me. I’m seeing more and more young women in their 20’s with melanoma.” And if it’s not caught in the early stages before it spreads, melanoma is a death sentence.

“I just saw a 17 year-old girl who had a melanoma,” NYC cosmetic dermatologist, Dr. Patricia Wexler added. “I’m also seeing far more basel cell cancer in women in their 20’s and in young women, it can behave more aggressively. Women have to treat skin cancer with respect.” The number of women diagnosed with basal skin cancer has more than doubled in the past 30 years, according to The Skin Cancer Foundation.

That means ladies — stop using tanning beds, which pound your skin with far more UVA rays than you’d get from the sun. And only go out in the sun wearing what NYC dermatologist Dr. Howard Sobel, a clinical dermatologist at NYC’s Lenox Hill Hospital, describes as a “broad spectrum” sunscreen, that protects against BOTH harmful UVA and UVB radiation.

Here’s the second HUGE benefit you’ll get from becoming a SUNSCREEN addict — you will prevent your skin from aging prematurely. “I see young women coming in everyday with skin that is irregularly pigmented. Their skin is brown and red, their pores are stretched out and their faces are losing elasticity,” reveals Dr. Wexler. “And that is all premature sun damage.” Ewww!

So if you don’t want to look older than your years or face deadly skin cancer — here are the tops Do’s and Don’ts from Dr. Katz, Dr. Sobel and Dr. Wexler, plus a choice of sunscreens rated the Best of the Best by Consumer Reports!

Do: wear broad spectrum sunscreen EVERYDAY, whether you plan to be in the sun or not.
For days in the office, an SPF of 15 is fine.
For outdoor days — wear a minimum of SPF 30, or even better, an SPF of 45.

Do: apply sunscreen at least a half hour before going in the sun so it can absorb into the skin,before you go in the sun.

Do: RE-APPLY sunscreen every 2 1/2 to 3 hours — it sweats off.
Re-apply after going in the water. “There is no such thing as a waterproof sunscreen,” says Dr. Sobel. “Some may be more water resistant than others — that’s it.”